With most companies in Nigeria facing a tight budget, there is the temptation to try and reduce marketing budget in order to save the much needed cash flow. However, what most companies do not know is that marketing is the life-wire of any business and for a business that wants to thrive and sustain its brand as well as its presence in the market; the business needs to be visible. Whether you are selling product or service, the catch is to continuously market yourself and your business.
Here are some handy low- budget marketing tips to remember:
- Be Clear & Concise:
Have used this to get you to take some time out to know what you want to project out there about your product or service. What picture or image do you want to depict to your audience. Be clear and concise about this. Know all about your product/service offering and the likely problems. Get a byline or elevator speech that resonates and this can also be used on your marketing materials and your social media pages.
- Do not be everything to everyone
This means do not be jack of all trade. Do not be seen in all the market spectrum of your industry when you have not built an intimidating presence in your current sphere. Do a business scan to identify your strength and stay in it to build capacity? Being jack of all trade reduces your visibility and also stifles your capacity to be a market leader.
- Create a niche:
Find areas that are being ignored by your competitors. What gap have they left that your product/service can easily fill up? Customers will only stop buying from your competitors if you offer something more superior than theirs. Look for this area and find solutions that people can relate with in order to create a visible presence around this. Create a value definition around your product/service offering, this could be in the area of after-sales support, lower price, better quality, prompt delivery and excellent customer service.
- Networking:
Finding time to interact with people and mix with like minds. Attend seminars, workshops, exhibitions and develop relationships with prospects that you can easily convert to customers. Why not look out for at least an exhibition quarterly or bi-annually and if you want to reduce the number of events, you can prioritize these in order of significance. Make connections purposefully, fearlessly and frequently. Do not make the mistake of only attending the events within your industry but also seek out other events within your potential customer’s industry.
- Go on Social Media:
No matter how fantastically good your business idea may be, if no one knows about it, then your business is as good as dead within the first few years of starting. Some SME owners think that it is a waste of money to have a functional website. This is quite unfortunate as its benefits overweigh the funds you would commit to it. Get someone that can create a catchy website with good content to do this for you. Be active on face book, twitter, linked-in and instagram etc. If you cannot do this yourself, hire someone to manage your social media page and make it current with new information. Also note the kind of target market so that your social media presence appeals to the right audience by creating content that connects with them.
Enjoy your week!
Rita Babalola
Business & Life Coach
www.thebeacongate.com
Email: beacongate@gmail.com
watsapp: 08162970699
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